China’s smartphone sales to fall 14% year-on-year in 2022 | Photo credit: Reuters
According to Counterpoint Research’s Market Pulse service, smartphone sales in China are set to decline 14 percent year-on-year in 2022 to a decade low.
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“2022 was also the fifth consecutive year of year-over-year sales decline in China. Counterpoint Research claims that the decline in sales was due to macroeconomic headwinds and the impact of COVID-19.
In Q4 2022, China’s smartphone sales declined by 15%. Therefore, each quarter of 2022 saw sales decline by double digits year-over-year.
The sudden easing of the COVID-19 policy in December led to a spike in cases and the market down 5% year-on-year to register the lowest quarterly sales in the year, the report highlighted.
The research firm analyzed that since the spring of 2022, many cities in China were being subjected to COVID-19 restrictions, which negatively affected consumer sentiment and further delayed smartphone replacement.
In 2022, Vivo will retain the top position in China with 19.2% market share, followed by Apple with 18% and Oppo in third place with 17.5%.
apple refused 3% YoY in 2022 but was able to outperform the market for a full year to become the number two brand in China for the first time. It also reached its highest quarterly share in Q4 2022, capturing 23.7% of sales.
Honor was the only brand in 2022 with a positive year-on-year growth of 38%. Counterpoint said this increase was primarily due to a lower base in 2021.
Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi sees 23%, 27% and 19% decline in 2022, respectively, due to a drop in demand amid economic uncertainty.